眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

04 Mar 2018    Sunday     5th Teach Total 144

To which consciousness do bodily, verbal, and mental actions respectively correspond?

Carefully observe the actions of body, speech, and mind to determine which consciousness they correspond to, and which consciousness's activities they primarily manifest. Of course, all bodily, verbal, and mental actions cannot be separated from the manas, nor from the mind consciousness, but there are still some differences among them. Bodily actions are the activities of the six consciousnesses—this surface phenomenon is already quite obvious—although behind them there is the manas's directing role and its accompanying role, and even more so the role of the eighth consciousness.

Verbal actions are mainly the activities of the mind consciousness, with the mind consciousness as the primary agent. Of course, the five sense consciousnesses also cooperate in this, along with the manas's directing role and accompanying role, and even more so the role of the eighth consciousness.

As for mental actions, they are primarily the mental activities of the manas, mainly manifesting the manas's thoughts and mental disposition. Although the mind consciousness also plays a role, and even more so the eighth consciousness, mental actions absolutely and completely correspond to the manas—they are the manas's ideas and views, even though the mind consciousness has a supervisory and regulatory function.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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